Crash Victim Wins Suit Against GM

A Superior Court jury awarded $1.65 million to a Huntington Beach woman Tuesday after agreeing that defects in her 1982 Chevrolet Camaro contributed to serious injuries she suffered in a collision six years ago.

The jury deliberated about 2 1/2 days before deciding in favor of Terri F. Soule and against General Motors Corp., ending an eight-week trial in Fullerton and closing the book on more than 4,000 pages of witness testimony.

Soule’s attorney, Frank P. Barbaro, called the verdict a landmark decision and said the trial revealed welding weaknesses in a bracket that attaches the left-front wheel assembly to the car’s frame. He said testimony also showed that the car did not “crush” properly on impact, and he urged General Motors to take notice of the decision.

General Motors attorney Barry Schirm said he was “shocked and dismayed” by the verdict and was discussing the corporation’s options, including the possibility of an appeal, with GM executives.

“This (appeal) is not something we can decide in 15 or 20 minutes on the telephone,” Schirm said of his post-trial conversations with the car company. “We can’t say what the full ramifications of the verdict will be.”

In Barbaro’s office, decorated with colorful paper streamers, Soule, 49, was lifting a glass of Scotch in tribute to her legal team.

“It hasn’t settled in with me yet,” she said, tears welling in her eyes. “The main thing I felt today is grateful for this verdict, my attorneys, a great jury and an excellent judge.

“I don’t know if it will ever be behind me, but it makes it less painful. It’s been a long time.”

Soule briefly recalled the accident in January, 1984, that crushed her left ankle, requiring nine operations to fuse it back together. She said the accident caused her to leave a full-time job and has left her with no ankle movement.

“I thought, ‘I’m going to die,’ ” she said, describing her thoughts that day when she saw another car cross the center-divider of Bolsa Chica Road in Westminster and move toward her.

Her attorneys claimed that when the vehicles collided, welding weaknesses in the Camaro bracket allowed the left-front tire to push up the floorboard, causing her injuries.

“For the rest of her life she will have pain every time she takes a step,” Barbaro said.

Since the accident, Barbaro said, Soule has accumulated medical bills totaling $80,000 and has lost $114,000 in earnings, and faces the loss of another $320,000 in future earnings.

Schirm said a major point in the GM defense was the fact that Soule was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the collision. He also said the corporation disputed the claim of weakness in the bracket welds and denied that the bracket caused Soule’s injuries.

“I don’t know what to make of their decision,” Schirm said. “I think there were technical issues that they missed. It was certainly not what I expected.”

Barbaro said he spent more than $90,000, not including attorneys’ fees, to try the case. For the entire eight-week trial he said he stayed in a Fullerton hotel room to be near the courtroom and save commuting time to his Laguna Beach home.

“We cut up two Camaros in pieces to put this case on,” he said. “You can never be sure when you’re up against the world’s largest corporation.”